The Silver Crown
For a long moment, the room is silent except for the low hum of the safe house systems and the faint crash of water somewhere outside.
Then my rage surges back, hotter now because it has a target.
Elowen opens the file.
His eyes track the stamp, the partial authorization mark, the phrasing.
He doesn’t speak for a full ten seconds.
When he finally does, his voice is almost gentle.
“It’s Virex.”
The name lands like a hammer.
My vision narrows.
My hands shake once—just once—before I force them still.
Elowen looks up at me, and for the first time tonight, his control slips enough that I see the same thing I’m feeling.